Money talks

I read the local editorial from Chumash tribal chairman Armenta, and I wondered why whenever the current laws or procedures that are in place concerning tribal reservations expansion doesn’t fit their desires or needs, he claims it’s unfair, and the community and local government are against their every move.

He makes statements that the Tribe has special rights, and obviously they do, but the citizens of Santa Ynez Valley also have rights, as do all the citizens of the United States.

I think the U.S. Constitution gives citizens these rights, but I could be wrong. The $2 million of local citizen donations to oppose this reservation expansion seems to be justified since the SY community took this fight all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest interpretation of the law, and they ruled in favor of the citizens of Santa Ynez Valley, and stated they do have standing to oppose reservation expansion. The Supreme Court! No wonder the Chumash are trying to circumvent the laws, and are using their money to attempt to change the laws.

Since that Supreme Court ruling, the BIA has double-talked their way around the ruling, and our County Board of Supervisors ignored the ruling and turned their back on the citizens of the Valley and voted not to appeal the BIA’s unjust expansion re-approval. Hmm, but Mr. Armenta claims the county is against them, and won’t work with them? The bottom line is very clear: If you don’t want to work on the terms and conditions of the Chumash, it’s unfair and unjust, there is no compromising or working in good faith. It’s just like the Congressional hearing they paid for and staged with biased testimonials and statements of unfair treatment. It’s clear, since there are rules in place today that prevent the Chumash from doing whatever they want, when they want, and now they are claiming foul and trying to buy their way to new rules. This tactic is all too familiar in our world, and it is what’s truly wrong with America today. If you don’t like the rules, and you have money, you make up a sad story, push your money and power, and ask for the rules to be changed; now that’s America!

Craig Metheany

Santa Ynez


Going in circles

I don’t get it. The roundabout at 246 and 154. The people don’t want it. Our representatives don’t want it.

We do not have long lines of cars at our new 4-way stop intersections. It’s not like we have millions of dollars burning a hole in our pocket. On the contrary, the county and state are going broke.

So how does Caltrans get to tell us we have to have one? Here is the government willy-nilly spending the taxpayers’ money. Where is the outrage? Stop signs, blinking lights. Just like Baseline/154. A proven solution.

Gretchen Kieding

Ballard


Mitt Romney

I can’t take credit for the following “Top 10 Reasons to Dislike Mitt Romney,” but I wish I could. I want to share them with you and your readers.

A lot is being said in the media about Romney not being “likable” or that he doesn’t “relate well” to people. Frankly, we struggled to understand why. So after much research, we have come up with a Top 10 List to explain this “un-likability.”

1. Drop-dead, collar-ad handsome with gracious, statesman like aura. Looks like every central casting’s No. 1 choice for Commander-in-Chief.

2. Been married to one woman his entire life, and has been faithful to her, including through her bouts with breast cancer and MS.

3. No scandals or skeletons in his closet. (How boring is that?)

4. Can’t speak in a fake, southern, “black preacher voice” when necessary.

5. Highly intelligent. Graduated cum laude from both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School – and by the way, his academic records are not sealed.

6. Doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol, and has never done drugs, not even in the counter-culture age when he went to college. Too square for today’s America?

7. Represents an America of “yesterday,” where people believed in God, went to Church, didn’t screw around, worked hard and became a success!

8. Has a family of five great sons, and none of them has police records or are in drug rehab. But of course, they were raised by a stay-at-home mom and that “choice” deserves America’s scorn.

9. Oh yes, he’s a Mormon. We need to be very afraid of that very strange religion that teaches its members to be clean-living, patriotic, fiscally conservative, charitable, self-reliant, and honest.

10. And one more point: Pundits say because of his wealth, he can’t relate to ordinary Americans. I guess that’s because he made that money himself, as opposed to marrying it or inheriting it from Dad. Apparently, he didn’t understand that actually working at a job and earning your own money made you un-relatable to Americans.

My goodness, it’s a strange world, isn’t it?

Wayne Barbarick

Orcutt


When Mitt Romney ran for governor of “Blue-Mass” (Massachusetts), he was pro-choice, said he would be “to the left of Ted Kennedy” on gay rights issues, and pushed through a health care plan with a mandate (one that had stricter penalties than Obamacare).

Now, his Republican Party platform and his VP choice, Paul Ryan, advocate making all abortions illegal – even in the cases of rape, incest or when a doctor determines the life of the mother is at risk. And this is the party which claims to be in favor of smaller, less intrusive government. He is, now, against gay or lesbian marriage and cannot, legitimately, attack Obamacare and defend Romneycare at the same time. I can understand someone liking, or not liking, President Obama. You know what he stands for. I can understand someone liking, or not liking, Paul Ryan. You know what he stands for. The empirical evidence would seem to indicate Mitt Romney has no core principles. He stands for nothing other than Swiss bank accounts and tax havens in the Cayman Islands.

Romney wants to run on his record as a “businessman,” yet feels any discussion of his record at Bain Capital is off limits (except to “Fox and Friends” and puff pieces for the Wall Street Journal). As for his refusal to release several years of personal tax returns, a precedent set by every presidential candidate for decades (including his father, the late George Romney, in 1968), one has to wonder – what’s he hiding?

Robert Baruch

Goleta


With gratitude

Bob Stokes, a gentleman to be recognized, I have shown antique cars all over California and Nevada. The Solvang show is without a doubt one of the best-managed and put-together shows in the country, and I haven’t missed one of them.

Bob is a meticulous man to say the least, he has two cars he built himself and they are perfect. There has to be a lot of hard work and personal time involved in this program.

From every car owner who attends your show and the merchants of Solvang, we want to thank you and your staff for giving us this charitable annual event, we all look forward to attending. You have our sincere gratitude.

Andy Johnson

Santa Ynez


Not impressed

Congresswoman Lois Capps is a big disappointment and an example of corrupt politics at its worst. As a Republican at the time she ran the first time, I worked for her election along with my daughter who had worked for Walter Capps in his SLO office as an intern while attending Cal Poly. I worked for a Democrat because of my extreme dislike for the views of her first opponent.

Because I have lived in two foreign countries that have term limits that work, I was very happy when she signed a contract not to run more than three times. For this promise not to become a career politician, she received about $300,000 from the national Term Limits Committee. Of course, anyone has the right to change his or her mind, but when a contract is broken the money grant provided for signing such a contract needs to be returned.

Recently when a prominent SB County Democrat claimed she had returned the money years ago upon the demand of the TLC, I checked it out. I verified that she never paid back even a portion of the money, and I defy anyone to prove otherwise. She won election the first time because of that money which she desperately needed to run attack ads against her first opponent. Thereafter, her district was extremely gerrymandered at the time of the 1990 census, thus assuring her re-election ever since.

Capps’ record as our representative has been terrible, and I could give numerous examples. She is also in favor of Amnesty for illegal aliens against the desires of the vast majority of Americans. And she won’t answer correspondence from her constituents except around election times.

Richard Dydell

Santa Maria